The Streets of Philadelphia
So, when I think of Philly, my mind immediately turns to 80s movies such as Rocky and Trading Places, where the 80s struggling economy made an impact and the streets were grey and filled with homeless folk. Because that’s what the movie portrayed. If you watch the scene where Rocky does his training montage, this is what you see (along with Sly’s pecs and abs, of course).
But Philly has changed a lot and it was utterly delightful, charismatic and quirky.
What I loved about Philly
1. Reading Market, which is a bustle of noise, people, sights and tastes. And it also asks that no grumpy people come in, which I love!
Totally!
We loved it!
2. The streets are made for walking. This is a city you can really walk. It’s just the right size and is a mix of old and new, quirky and historical, bars and museums.
3. It kind of reminded me of London, but at the same time was properly American with the sounds of the trains and the factories and the sirens. That is a good mix in my book.
4. The food is amazing. And I don’t just mean the Philly Cheesesteaks – I mean the fish selection, the meat selection and vege selection. All of it! Oh, and the beer and the wine!
5. The Rocky Steps and Art Museum. The token guy dressed as a very crap, very out of shape Rocky was at the top was naturally amusing, and everyone did that run up the steps, but there were the serious folks too who were actually really running and were probably well pissed off with all the tourists, but that’s how it rolls folks!
Philly art musuem
Rockin’ the Rocky steps!
6. Yes, we saw the Liberty Bell which proclaimed liberty for the USA and Elfreth Alley (the oldest street in the USA and very quaint) and we saw the LOVE sign, but for me Philly was much more than these tourist sites. It was a city with a heart and soul and character and personality, and I liked it very much.
Feeling the love in Philly
Elfreth Alley
Betsy Ross house
So, there we have it – Philly was awesomeballs. And so was super trendy hipster town Manyunk about 2 miles outside of the city, which had more brunch and consignment places than I have ever seen before in one main street. I could defo live there!
Trendy Manyunk
Coolsome!
More roadtrips are planned before our four months are up. Still in denial about going home, though, dear reader!
Love taking our guests to Philly, usually for a day trip. You are right, it is one of the few great cities made for walking although we usually take the Plash bus as it is quite spread out; on checking you were out of season to use those unfortunately. I think since the recession they have cut back on that service as I don’t remember when we visited in the Winter they were unavailable. Ultimately I think San Fran is my favorite city for walking and they have THE best, coolest transport system.
So pleased that my old backyard got high marks! You and your family will have experienced the heart and soul of the USA, more so than most of our own citizens.
So happy to hear you loved Philly! It was the first place I ever visited in America (lived there for a year while I was studying abroad), and it’s still one of my favourite places in the States 🙂